Massage
by Elizabeth Copela
Summary: After a long and laborious 24-hour fight the Titans collapse at home and Robin gets some unexpected, but appreciated therapy - and a whole load of paperwork. RobxRae Oneshot


The Titans walked into the common room, collapsing on the sofa in varying states of exhaustion. They had just come back from an almost continuous tirade of criminal trouble, involving The H.I.V.E, Dr. Light, Plasmas and others. They were officially fed up, each of them having accumulated their own number of bashes and bruises and Beast Boy was already nodding off on the sofa, healing the wounds on his body.

"Someone should get him to his bed," Said Cyborg, watching Beast Boy mutter in his sleep, "-or he'll catch a cold out here."

"Probably," said Raven, yawning. She shook her head to Raven's silent question on whether she wanted tea and stood up. "Good thing he has such a good friend as you then, Cyborg." Just because she was tired didn't mean she couldn't still be sarcastic.

Starfire nodded tiredly but happily. "Friend Raven is right, Cyborg; Beast Boy must be very grateful for having such an effective friend as you." She got up to leave. "I am also going to my chambers to slumber, good of the night friends!"

Cyborg shook his head, muttering about friends spending too much time with each other and their annoying habits rubbing off on the other. Gently he picked up the slumbering changeling and carried him out of the room, leaving Robin and Raven.

Robin smiled and shook his head, leaning his head back on the top of the sofa wearily, his poor muscles sending him a good argument for going straight to bed and ignoring all of the evidence he had to commission and reports he had to write. He almost considered having a quick nap there and then and then working on the paperwork afterwards.

"If you fall asleep there you won't wake up for hours," a voice piqued up from the kitchen. Robin craned his head round to see Raven walking from the kitchen with a steaming cup of tea in her hand. She raised her eyebrows when he looked at her puzzled. "What?"

"Aren't you going straight to bed?" he asked her.

"Obviously not," she replied, blowing on the scalding liquid as she sat down next to him.

"Why not?"

She looked at him curiously. "I just want to have a cup of tea first," she sounded quite annoyed at all of his questions. "Why aren't you?"

Robin grimaced at the reminder. "I've got lots of paperwork to do thanks to all these villains causing havoc," he smirked, "Though I'm not foolish enough to punish my muscles further by staying up for _a cup of tea._"

Raven scoffed, sipping some of the named beverage. "Foolish or not, here I am enjoying my tea while you're still delaying your muscles their desired rest by sitting there complaining." Robin glared at her.

"I'm not complaining," he protested, "and your herbal tea can't be that good."

Raven's lips upturned ever-so-slightly in a smile. "It isn't herbal tea, it's just tea."

Robin looked surprised. "You like regular tea?"

"Obviously," she repeated.

Robin shrugged, "I didn't take you as an Earl Grey lover,"

Raven scrunched up her nose, causing Robin to stare at the rare show of such emotion on her face. "I don't like Earl Grey, this is Tetley."

"The English brand?"

"Yes."

Now it was Robin's turn to scrunch up his nose in disgust. "But Tetley is disgusting,"

"Have you ever tried it?"

He hesitated before: "No,"

"There you go then," she said simply, sipping her tea again as if to prove her point. "Anyway," she interrupted him before he could open his mouth to no doubt complain further, "You're still here, Robin and your paperwork is still not done."

Robin slumped visibly, the daunting task of paperwork just too much for his muscles. "I know, I know but my muscles are just not listening to me," He grimaced as he rolled his shoulders, placing a hand on a shoulder delicately. "Besides, I think my shoulders are too stiff to do any writing anyway."

Raven looked at him in a curious manner then drained her cup, standing up and putting it away properly as she spoke: "If you're that tired, and you're shoulders are that stiff just leave the paperwork for tomorrow."

Robin shook his head, shifting in his seat so he faced the back of the sofa to continue to talk to her and he watched her wash the cup carefully as he replied. "If I do that the reports wouldn't be as accurate as they should be after a night's rest."

Raven thought carefully as she put the mug away and joined him back at the sofa. "However," she counteracted, "If you write the reports now the handwriting may be so illegible, with your stiff shoulders, you'll have to write it all again in the morning anyway."

Robin smiled. "I see your point, but I don't want to wake up with such a task in front of me anyway," Raven tilted her head at him, looking at him calculatingly. "What?"

She smiled at him then, one of her special, affectionate smiles and he felt his cheeks warm as Raven's features lit up prettily. "How about this;" she said, "you go to bed and rest, as you obviously need it and tomorrow morning I'll help you with the reports."

Robin stared at the gesture and shook his head stubbornly. "No, I need to write down an account of what happened and write down any pieces of evidence used and -"

"Robin," she interrupted him with a smile, "I was there, I can also write an account of what has happened in the last twenty-four hours."

Robin wasn't sure; he wasn't used to having people do the administrative work with him. "You don't have to do that, Raven I can do it." Raven almost bowed then in a humble manner.

"I don't deny that at all, but it would be undeniably faster and easier for you if I helped you." She stood up, closing the conversation and Robin sighed in exasperation. He was uneasy about Raven helping him with his duties as a leader but also happy that he'll be able to spend time with her alone. "Are your shoulders hurting still?" Raven asked him suddenly.

Robin nodded. "They're not so much hurting, they're just stiff." Raven smiled enigmatically.

"Sit on the sofa properly," she told him.

Robin frowned, puzzled. "Why?"

"Just do it," she told him. Perplexed but curious, Robin obeyed and Raven went behind him.

"What are you going to do?"He asked her, craning his neck round to look at her. She looked at his cape, almost in annoyance then reached forward and undid it. "Hey!" Robin protested, turning his body towards her.

"Sit straight," she told him, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to face towards the television. She folded the cape quickly and put it to the side and then intertwined her fingers, pushing on them until her knuckles cracked. Robin didn't look back but his expression showed his confusion and he jumped when Raven's fingers touched his shoulders.

"Relax," Raven said, amused. Slowly she started massaging his shoulders, her thumbs working in circles to ease the stiff muscles. Robin felt his shoulders loosen and he let his head fall forward slightly, closing his eyes.

"Wow Raven, you're really good." Robin murmured, his shoulders going slack and his head dropping forward even more.

"Thanks," said a bemused Raven, focusing on the massaging of his neck. They continued like that until Raven finally stopped, half an hour later and handed his cape back to Robin.

"I didn't know you could do massages," said Robin, rolling his shoulders and smiling when they weren't stiff anymore.

Raven shrugged. "I've had the opportunity to learn before, so I took it up."

Robin tilted his head at her, enjoying the fact that it didn't make his neck hurt to do so. "Where?"

Raven didn't answer and snapped her fingers. "Right, I'm going to bed and you -" she looked at him beadily. "- are going to bed too. In the morning I'll help you with all the paperwork."

Robin frowned, still not happy with the idea of her helping him but he let it slide as a wave of sleepiness overcame him. "We'll see," he said, smiling. Standing up he followed Raven out the common room, initiating the lockdown on the Tower as he went and, once at their doors Robin said goodnight to her and went into his room.

Just before he succumbed to sleep a thought wandered across his mind. _How did she know how to undo my cape?_


End file.
